SNCC & Grassroots Organizing, NEH Discussion Series, Tougaloo College

NEH SNCC & Grassroots Organizing Discussion Series, Tougaloo College

Please join us at Tougaloo College (Tougaloo, MS) on February 7 & 8, 2025 (or via livestream on February 7) for the SNCC and Grassroots Organizing: Building A More Perfect Union events. This will be an exciting conversation between those who actually made Movement history, together with those who are grounded in that history. This event is part of a series generously supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Friday evening's event will be livestreamed.

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) veterans Jennifer Lawson and Charles McLaurin will join Movement scholars Robert Greene and Emilye Crosby for a two-day community gathering focused on SNCC’s grassroots community organizing and its relevance to ongoing efforts to build a more just society. Founded by students at HBCUs, SNCC was the only national youth-led organization in the southern movement of the 1960’s.

Join us Friday (in person and livestream) and Saturday (in person only) to learn about SNCC and the Organizing Tradition work and Black Power in the Movement.

*********************************************************

Friday, February 7 (in person and livestream)

The Organizing Tradition in the Movement Roundtable Discussion

10:00 a.m. (CT), Tougaloo College

The Organizing Tradition is a long-term approach to social change that emphasizes the development of skills and leadership ability in so-called ordinary people. Ella Baker, more than any other person, introduced SNCC to the organizing tradition and influenced the group to embrace that approach. Unlike the master narrative which encourages people to wait for and defer to a big leader like Dr. King or the president, the organizing tradition highlights the importance of everyone acting—individually and collectively. It encourages broad leadership and skill development, expanding engagement, and is central to the work of creating a more perfect union. Over the years, former SNCC organizers continued to fight for political and economic justice, most recently through the ongoing, intergenerational work of the SNCC Legacy Project. Can’t make it in person? Join the livestream!

*********************************************************

Saturday, February 8 (in person only)

Black Power Roundtable Discussion

10:00 a.m. (CT), Tougaloo College

Join SNCC veterans Charles McLaurin and Jennifer Lawson, and Movement historians Robert Greene and Emilye Crosby to learn more about SNCC’s work on Black Power. Can’t make it in person? Join the livestream!

Saturday, February 8 (in person only)

Organizing Tradition Workshop

1:00 p.m. (CT), Tougaloo College

Join SNCC veterans Charles McLaurin and Jennifer Lawson, and Movement historians Robert Greene and Emilye Crosby to learn more about SNCC’s work on the organizing tradition then and now for this interactive Learning Toolkit workshop. Participants will dig into exciting SNCC documents and audiovisual materials, learn about the organizing tradition in SNCC’s movement building, and collectively explore how those lessons are relevant today. This workshop is geared toward educators, civic organizations, community or activist groups, librarians, youth – or anyone who wants to learn more about this exciting Movement history.

Visit the SNCC Legacy Project website for details and to learn more: https://sncclegacyproject.org/sncc-grassroots-organizing/

Supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the SNCC and Grassroots Organizing discussion series is a collaborative project of the Movement History Initiative (a collaboration among the SNCC Legacy Project, Duke University Libraries, the Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke, and Civil Rights Movement scholars), six Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and six civil rights and African American history museums.

Contact Email

[email protected]

URL

https://sncclegacyproject.org/sncc-grassroots-organizing/

Can’t make it in person? Join the livestream on Friday evening!

Also, save the date for our virtual community conversation on Voting Rights on !

Host or Publisher NEH SNCC & Grassroots Organizing Discussion Series